‘Power supply to hit 9,000mw in Nigeria in December’

18 February 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – Prof Bart Nnaji, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, says power supply in the country would reach above 9,000mw by December if all challenges confronting gas supply were resolved.

Nnaji made the statement in Abuja on Friday at a one-day meeting between the Ministry of Power and Ministry of Petroleum Resources with other stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.

“As you know, the Federal Government has been doing a lot to ensure that we rapidly accelerate power supply situation in the country,’’ he said.

Nnaji said President Goodluck Jonathan launched the power roadmap in 2010 and” as part of that, we are aligning the entire value chain of power production level. “The critical element in that is that of gas supply.”

He disclosed that the two ministries had neen working together to bridge whatever gap that is militating aginst the government’s drive towards realising the its targets for the power sector.

The minister said the country would collaborate with international oil producers and the producers of gas and transportation to ensure that the gap was filled.

He explained that when all the National Integrated Power Producers would start functioning in December and gas supply was steady to the plants, more electricity would get to consumers.

According to him, many of the independent power producers are ready except for gas supply, which is holding them from taking off.